Fight Path: Late bloomer Sam Oropeza facing fears, fulfilling dreams

The jiu-jitsu school just outside Philadelphia had been staring at Sam Oropeza (5-1) for years.

During that time, Oropeza was driving back and forth to school, learning the tools that would help him become a refinery worker. The pull for martial arts training was strong enough that Oropeza was often tempted to simply turn around on his way to work and become a full-time practitioner.

But first he had to take the first step and enter the school. Luckily, he says, one of his older brothers in a family raised by his mother following his father’s early death told him the school was actually there.

“I drove by it every day, and I never knew it was there,” Oropeza told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “My brother said to me one day, ‘Did you know there’s a jiu-jitsu gym in the shopping center?’ I went to a school where we couldn’t leave the campus, but I snuck out and finally went in.”

That stop has turned into a professional career for which Oropeza has sacrificed his own place, more financial stability and steady work. But he has gained much more personal respect, which he hopes to grow.

Oropeza will take his next step on Saturday when he faces Giedrius Karavackas (4-1) in the local-features main event at Bellator 44 in Atlantic City, N.J. The 25-year-old who has compiled a 5-1 professional record is coming off a Strikeforce victory against Don Carlo-Clauss in February.

Even though concerns that he wasn’t good enough to compete kept him from committing to the wrestling team in high school, Oropeza said he has found a comfort level with MMA. That, combined with his appetite to train and compete, gave Oropeza a new career that has provided him with a new sense of self-worth.

“In any type of combat sport, you really find out what you have inside you,” Oropeza said. “It was good to know I had that strength and that courage. The only thing I had to figure out was how I could turn this into a career.”

Finding the confidence

Oropeza is the youngest of six children born into a family in Briarcliff, Pa., just outside Philadelphia.

As a kid, Oropeza idolized his father, who encouraged his children in sports and supported them by attending as many games as possible. But that support ended too soon.

When Oropeza was 10 years old, his father died due to kidney and liver failure, a stunning and sudden setback for the family. Oropeza, separated from his oldest sister by 15 years and oldest brother by 11 years, was at home to help his mother deal with the grief.

Because of that, the two have stayed very close.

“She’s the greatest supporter in my life,” he said, “but she’ll never come to a fight because she’s totally against violence. She’s proud of me, and she’s proud of what I do, she just won’t come to the actual fight.”

In fact, as his fighting career became a full-time occupation, Oropeza moved into a small room at his mother’s place, making sure he had support and resources to train full time.

“I just stay at the gym longer, and it keeps me hungry,” he said. “I wake up in this stinky room, because of all the sweat, and it’s just more motivation to get better.”

Oropeza admits he had limited athletic involvement in school because, he says, he was always concerned that others felt he wasn’t good enough. In turn, he thought he wasn’t good enough.

Still, he joined the wrestling team in high school and battled through his anxiety. It took some time for him to find his inner confidence.

It also took a detour, finally, into the nearby jiu-jitsu school.
Chasing a dream

The day Oropeza finally snuck out of school to check out the jiu-jitsu gym, in 2006, he barely wanted to leave.

“I asked two things: Can I sign up today and can I train today,” Oropeza said.

He could, and he did. In the training, Oropeza discovered a yet-unknown passion for something that caused him to learn almost daily.

He told himself that when he earned his purple belt, he would take a fight. That took about two years, and others at the gym encouraged him to enter the world of amateur fighting.

Except the anxiety came back, and Oropeza wouldn’t take their calls. He was concerned about what others would think and whether he was ready.

Then, in July 2008, he watched a fight on his computer that changed his mind. In it, fellow Philadelphia Fight Factory fighter Eddie Alvarez battled to a victory against Tatsuya Kawajiri, one of 2008’s most notable fights.

“I called my manager, and I said, ‘I’ll fight,'” Oropeza said. “I knew I wasn’t anywhere near as good as Eddie, but I saw his desire, and I knew I had that same desire, at least.”

Oropeza took two amateur fights before he became a professional. His pro debut came in June 2009, and he won his first four fights before losing to Myles Jury at a King of the Cage show in September 2010.

Now a full-time professional, Oropeza has committed himself to what has been his life’s greatest passion. And, with confidence he hadn’t yet felt in many endeavors, he feels he is continuing to improve.

“Growing up I knew I couldn’t be in the NFL Draft or in another pro sport, but I always wanted to be a professional athlete,” he said. “My first fight, when I got in the cage, I’ll never forget the look at people’s faces. I was a professional athlete. I think about that moment all the time.”

Award-winning newspaper reporter Kyle Nagel is the lead features
writer for MMAjunkie.com. His weekly “Fight Path” column focuses on the
circumstances that led fighters to a profession in MMA. Know a fighter
with an interesting story? Email us at news [at] mmajunkie.com.

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